- Author: Tina Saravia
Last month, I got the opportunity to attend the meeting of the local chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers, the largest amateur fruit-growing organization in the world. I've been aware of this group for years. I have a friend from another plant society who is a member of the local chapter of the CRFG. He has shared with me some very rare and unusual plants, some of which I've killed.
One such plant was pepino dulce (Solanum muricatum). So at the raffle, when my ticket was called, I picked a a pepino dulce in a 3-gallon pot. I loaded it in the car and brought it home. It was then I realized that I didn't remember anything about it.
Lucky for me, the Internet came to my rescue. Here are a couple of links to the University of California in Davis websites that cover this plant.
http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/datastore/234-234.pdf
Pepino dulce (sweet cucumber in Spanish) is also known as melon pear or melon shrub. It is an
evergreen frost-sensitive plant native to the Andean regions of South America. It belongs to the family Solanaceae or night shade family. It's related to tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and potatoes. It's a perennial but will grow as an annual in many areas.
It's growth habit is similar to a small tomato vine, and may need staking or support. The plant looks like a potato plant (I think the leaves look like a pepper plant.); and according to the picture from the UC Davis site, the fruit looks like an eggplant.
But I will have to wait until next year, as it doesn't set fruit until the night temperatures are above 65° F.
As for the taste of the fruit, "Better quality fruit is moderately sweet, refreshing and juicy with a taste and aroma similar to a combination of cantaloupe and honeydew melon. In poor varieties there can be an unpleasant 'soapy' aftertaste."
I sure hope I have the better variety.
Here's an additional link to more information about this plant from the California Rare Fruit Growers. http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/pepino.html